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Hubert Davis is on the record as saying Carolina’s style is proven. It works and it wins. He also said that the Tar Heels need more shooters. Taken at face value, it’s easy to agree that having a starting lineup that shot .316/.444/.367/.469/.628 (you can guess which one is Armando Bacot, highlighting the importance of his return) is not ideal shooting-wise.
A normal offseason and the natural maturation of key freshmen should help with that, but with the departures of Day’Ron Sharpe, Walker Kessler, and Garrison Brooks, the frontcourt slate has essentially been wiped clean. Hubert Davis can really alter the DNA of the program beginning next season.
So far, he has given several clues on what direction he’s headed towards. First came the news on the immediate transfers of Virginia forward Justin McKoy and Oklahoma forward Brady Manek, 33.3% and 37.5% 3-point shooters, respectively. Now, Davis has offered a high school player with a similar fit.
Isaac Traudt, a 6’9” 215-lb power forward from Grand Island Senior High School (Grand Island), NE (AAU: Lincoln Supreme) received a scholarship offer from Coach Davis. He is a 247Sports Composite top 50 player (4-stars) and is the #10 power forward in the 2022 class.
Grateful to have received an offer from the University of North Carolina!! pic.twitter.com/32zQsZCtT5
— Isaac Traudt (@ittraudt) April 17, 2021
Traudt fits the mold of a hybrid power forward. Comfortable shooting from all over the floor, especially from deep, Traudt can help provide the spacing Carolina needs to decongest the paint for a single traditional post player to operate in, or for guards to penetrate into more easily. As a high schooler still growing and adapting to his body, he may need some time to build strength and bulk to operate on the block in the ACC, but that will surely come with time. It’s easier to do some squats and bench presses than develop a nice handle and smooth stroke, as observed against Nebraska high school competition:
from @ittraudt tonight. Deep three, work in the post, resetting a play and finish, rebound for a put back etc. pic.twitter.com/CVN9j439qu
— Mike Sautter (@MikeSautter_) February 3, 2021
With the additions of McKoy and Manek and the offer to Traudt, it does appear that Hubert Davis does not seem to want to rebuild last year’s frontcourt that featured bruising low-block forwards like Brooks, Bacot, and Sharpe, but rather versatile ones that can shoot and space like Jawad Williams and Luke Maye. Traudt looks like he can be that type of forward, but probably cannot be an ACC-level starting center, so it will be interesting to see what kind of offers Davis puts out to bookend with shooters like Traudt.